Despite increased sales last year, the German shoe industry is looking ahead to 2024 with concern. On Monday, the head of the Federal Association of the Shoe and Leather Goods Industry HDS/L, Carl-August Seibel, spoke of a “tense mood”. “Of course we cannot escape the situation of the German economy either,” said Seibel at the Shoes trade fair in Düsseldorf. In a survey conducted by his association, companies only spoke of a “satisfactory business situation” in the past two months.
According to the association, sales of German shoe manufacturers amounted to around 2.21 billion euros in 2023 – a nominal increase of 1.84 percent compared to 2022. However, given inflation, the HDS/L assumes a real decline.
The situation is similar in trading. At the trade fair, the textile shoes leather goods trade association BTE announced sales of 11.6 billion euros in 2023, four percent more than in 2022. BTE managing director Axel Augustin pointed out that this was 1.5 percent below the pre-Corona figure -level of 2019. While stationary retail increased by eight percent after the weak Corona years, sales of mail order and online retailers fell again. “A market situation like this no longer forgives mistakes. And that will probably stay with us for quite some time,” said Augustin. According to BTE estimates, around 170 shoe retailers closed their doors forever – partly due to insolvency, partly voluntarily due to a lack of successor. This means that there are currently around 2,600 companies still on the market. (dpa)